Brushy Peak Preserve expands by 79 areas

LIVERMORE -- Brushy Peak Regional Preserve is expanding by 79 acres, protecting land suitable for hiking and protecting wildlife habitat in grasslands north of Livermore.

The East Bay Regional Park District board agreed Tuesday to pay $550,000 for the land known as Eddie's Flat, located off Vasco Road north of Livermore.

The land will not open to the public for some time, until plans are made and carried out to provide public access.

Funding for the purchase comes from three sources outside the park district. They include: $250,000 from a fund supported by Altamont Landfill environmental fees, $250,000 from Livermore's Dougherty Valley development settlement, and $50,000 from an Alameda County surplus property fund to offset impacts of a development in the Staples Ranch area.

The new park land is adjacent to a 28,000-acre wildlife corridor that includes the Los Vaqueros Reservoir watershed and a preserve for vernal pools.

The new park land has highly alkaline soil that may be habitat for several species, including longhorn fairy shrimp, golden eagles, the California tiger salamander, burrowing owl, and the San Joaquin kit fox.